The new bet of the Ortega regime to occupy the position of secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA) is Orlando Solórzano Delgadillo, former head of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (Mific), met CONFIDENTIAL.
Solorzano fHe was removed from his position at the head of the Mific on March 1, 2022, supposedly due to health problems, after 15 years at the head of this state portfolio.
Nicaragua has assigned the General Secretariat of SICA for the period 2021-2025, based on an agreement of the Central American presidents in 2017, at a meeting in San José, Costa Rica. The declaration establishes that each country will take turns as the General Secretariat, guided by the principle of geographical rotation.
the digital portal Public File reports that this Tuesday, May 3, the foreign ministers of the Central American region will meet to address the proposal of the Ortega regime, but this meeting would not be confirmed by the official representations.
Sources linked to Costa Rican diplomacy point out that the outgoing Government of Charles Alvarado I would not vote for Ortega’s candidate.
In addition, they commented that Costa Rica will not take any position on the issue until after the inauguration of the president-elect Rodrigo Chaves, on May 8. CONFIDENTIAL consulted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, but there is still no response.
This Friday, April 29, Chaves stated that he is currently “reconsidering” the possibility of appointing an ambassador in Nicaragua, after the ‘manu militari’ occupation and subsequent confiscation of the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Managua.
Third attempt to place a relative in office
Solórzano’s candidacy would be the third attempt by the Ortega regime to place someone loyal in office, after the two previous proposals were rejected by most of the countries in the region.
First, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo proposed that the last Secretary General, former Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo, who was said to sympathize with Ortega, remain in office, but the proposal was rejected by Belicand.
The newspaper La Nación of Costa Rica published that the Foreign Ministry of Belize sent a diplomatic communication to San José on June 22, 2021, where it recalls that the Tegucigalpa Protocol —founding document of SICA— “does not contemplate the extension of the mandate” of the secretary general.
“(Belize) adds that the spirit of that agreement (of 2017) was that the secretary general must be of the nationality of the member state that is responsible for proposing candidates,” according to the publication.
The list of chips of the regime rejected by Central America
Subsequently, the regime proposed a list of candidates to occupy the General Secretariat of SICA: former Sandinista guerrilla Orlando José Tardencilla, who recently had a fleeting step as representative of Nicaragua before the OAS; the architect Luz Marina López Escobar and María Amelia Coronel Kinloch, who since 2017 has served as head of the Ministry of the Interior (Migob).
However, this shortlist was rejected because the countries integrated into SICA argued that the shortlist proposed by Nicaragua was made up of “people without much knowledge.” in the foreign service, and “very close to the regime.”
Due to the rejection of Nicaragua’s proposals, Guatemala occupies the ‘pro tempore’ presidency of SICA. On December 16, 2021, a meeting of heads of state of the region was scheduled, but it was canceled because only Daniel Ortega and the then president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, confirmed their attendance.
Nicaragua’s political attitude could hinder Solórzano’s candidacy
A former diplomat, who asked not to be summoned so as not to face reprisals from the Ortega dictatorship, explained that the candidacy of Orlando Solórzano and his lack of diplomatic experience is not really the real problem in reaching a consensus to appoint the new secretary general of SICA. , but the political nature with which the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo acts.
“Solórzano’s professional career at the head of Mific undoubtedly makes him a more acceptable candidate, if it were simply a problem of the candidates’ lack of professional qualifications. But the problem is of a political nature, much more complex. First of all, Nicaragua under the Ortega-Murillo government has violated and continues to violate the main Central American integration treaties, in particular the Tegucigalpa Protocol and the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America,” he noted.
“These treaties contain numerous provisions on democracy, free periodic elections and respect for human rights, to which the signatory States have committed. Second, the totalitarian vocation of the Ortega Murillo family and their total lack of scruples mean that any election of a candidate proposed by Nicaragua is seen as the election of a puppet at the service of the Nicaraguan dictatorship,” he added.
